Spiffy:

Iffy:

The inclusion of two perspectives might rattle fans of the series, but it seems to work well so far.

The biggest question on everyone's mind at the show was, "Why 'The Room?'" The answer, while a tad convoluted when a Japanese producer tries to explain the deeper meaner behind it, translates to this:

Horror is best rooted in one's own heart. Being in an unfamiliar place, lost and alone, may be scary. Still, plopping a player into his/her own domain and letting loose monsters is infinitely more frightening. In the familiar stems the greatest spooks of all. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. It's subtitled The Room, but that isn't my room. At least the core idea is intact.

To get players more personality involved, all of the action in the real world takes place in first person. Whether you wander into the bathroom and sit on your bed, it'll be seen through your eyes. But once you happen upon one of several mystical portals scattered throughout your apartment -- which, being so large, would be pretty damn expensive by San Francisco standards -- the perspective shifts to third-person, a familiar vantage point for fans of the series.

Personally, though, I think a game like Silent Hill doesn't really benefit from being played at E3. Even when tucked away in the comfort of a somewhat-quiet meeting room, sitting on a couch and playing away, something is immediately lost. The Silent Hill franchise is about ambience, and that's really hard to experience when florescent lights are beaming down on the TV screen, companies are competing for the attention of show-goers with decibels, and when you're worried about making it to your next appointment.

From what I can gather, the game's protagonist, Henry Townshend, is in for one wild ride. By stepping into those portals, he'll meet with some grotesque creatures and dreary locales, like an underground watermill, a haunted hotel, and a creepy, living forest. Returning is the eerie score and ear-drum-assaulting effects of previous Silent Hill offerings, making for probably the best of the four to play alone, in the dark, with nothing but you, the controller, and the onscreen horror show.

The visuals are appropriately grainy - which is expected of the series - creating even more reason for you to wear a pair of Depends while toggling away. But even weirder than the game itself is its teaser trailer, which defies all Hollywood conventions, just to creep the crap out of you. Forget narrative; it's all about mood.

Stay tuned for some proper hands-on experience with what is guaranteed to be one of the most gritty, gruesome games this year.